THE family of a girl found dead are still waiting to be told when they can start preparing for her funeral.

Charlotte Flanagan, 22, a former pupil at St Wilfrid's High School, Blackburn, was found in her flat - on the fourth floor above the Barley Mow pub in London's West End where she had worked for three months - in the early hours of New Year's Day.

An inquest on January 3 revealed she died from a stab wound to the neck. Gareth Richard Horton, 29, of Walmsley Street, Darwen, was arrested hours after the incident and is due to appear at the Old Bailey for a plea and directions hearing on February 21.

Charlotte's father, Kevin, of Melville Gardens, Darwen, said: "We are still waiting to hear from the coroner when we can hold the funeral.

"It could be anything up to seven weeks but we are hoping it will be sooner than that. It could be next week, we don't know."